Her Dawning Empire: The Prophecy

Chapter 63

I frowned in confusion at her words, waiting for her to expand.

"El Naddaha?" I questioned and Maya nodded angrily before answering.

"El Naddaha- creatures of the water. They were used to scare us as children to stay away from the river bank. I had thought that it was just lore, but I've been proven wrong. They call to men by their names, making them blindly follow them. They spend time speaking words of their desire until they lose reason; until they're within grasp to drown and consume." She finished and I stilled at the darkness of her words taking a moment to process what she said. Then, before I could control it, I turned and walked towards Emut, tugging at his arm.

"Emut, please! Listen, we need to leave!" I implored in anguish, hoping to get through to the caring gentle part of him, but he shrugged my hold off without a word.

I let out a deep sigh before moving towards Demir who was rowing, his hair in his eyes.

"Demir, please understand, we're in danger. Stop!" I pleaded, trying to stop the oar in his hand to which he turned his lethal silver gaze to me, a look of disdain on his face.

"Move your hands, Hanna." He spoke in a calm yet deadly voice. I sighed in frustration, tightening my hold on the oar and his hand. His jaw clenched at this and I shook my head.

"I can't let you do this." I spoke in a feeble but steady voice, a look of anguish on my face.

"Move." He warned dangerously and I shook my head to which he scowled as Maya pulled me back with my arm hurriedly.

"Are you stupid, Hanna?! They're not in their right state of mind! They'll do anything to get there. Who knows what they'll do to anyone opposing them." She berated me and I shrugged out of her hold before moving to the edge of boat.

I could see we were an arms length away from the land and I let my scornful gaze slip to the females.

"Leave them alone." I muttered and that was the first time that I saw an expression on their face. They all smiled widely, in a way that made it look like their faces would tear at the intrusion and I broke eye contact for a moment in shock of their hideous beauty.

"They no longer belong to you, child." They answered in eerie unison in a way that sounded both loving and threatening. Ayla clutched my hand beside me and I shook my head at their words, my teeth clenching in anger.

"They never did, but I sure as hell won't let you have them." I vowed to which their smiles widened more than what I thought was possible.

I felt the jolt of the boat hit against the land and suddenly Demir jumped over the railing with ease, landing gracefully on the land below. I let out a squeal as he ran towards his destination, his hair flopping into his eyes. At this, both Emut and Abrax followed suit, jumping ship and moving to the women.

I let out a small noise as did Maya as we scaled the side to get down.

"Ayla! Get Abrax!" I ordered as I landed against the sandy ground. She nodded frantically before transporting a few steps ahead of us and wrapping her arms around Abrax who let out a small growl. They disappeared for a moment before reappearing on the boat where he struggled against Ayla's hold.

I focused then on running towards the other two males with Maya by my side. On the right, I could see the small gaping hole, showing another cave that was glowing a blue hue. I chose to ignore it for the moment as we reached the boys, my chest heaving to gulp in long breaths.

Maya moved to Emut where a Naddaha leaned into him, stroking a slender pale hand against his bicep.

"My, what strength!" The creature spoke in hushed excitement, her eyes glittering with what could only be classed as hunger. Emut smiled at her words, brushing a hand through his hair to which the creature did the same.